UP to send senior citizens on free pilgrimage to Tirupati, Rameswaram

The Uttar Pradesh government will send over 1,000 senior citizens from the state on a free-of-cost pilgrimage to Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu), an official said on Wednesday.

Principal Secretary (Religious Affairs) Navneet Sehgal said that the proposed pilgrimage would be open to permanent senior citizens of the state between November 26 and December and would be conducted by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

Sehgal said the selected pilgrims would be taken on board a special train, chartered by the IRCTC, from Lucknow to Tirupati and Rameswaram in the general class. During the journey, they would be provided with travelling kits.

The principal secretary said the to-and-fro journey of pilgrims from their home districts to Lucknow would be taken care by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation.

As many as 1,044 berths would be reserved for pilgrims, with the IRCTC taking out accidental insurance on all pilgrims.

Two helpline numbers have been set up for the convenience of pilgrims.

Under 'Samajwadi Shrawan Yatra', similar pilgrimages were arranged earlier this year during which senior citizens from Uttar Pradesh were sent to Haridwar, Rishikesh, Ajmer Sharif and Pushkar shrines.

-- Indo-Asian News Service

md/tsb/vm